The Dismissal of the Whitlam Government - November 11th, 1975 November 11th, 1975 LinkedIn1 The Dismissal of the Whitlam Government on November 11, 1975 was the most dramatic political event in the history of Australia’s Federation. Edward Gough Whitlam’s government was elected on December 2, 1972 and was the first Labor administration in 23 years. Elected in a national mood of hope and anticipation, the government was steeped in controversy from the outset. Re-elected eighteen months later, it was gone in just under three years. It was a government that initiated unparalleled reform but was frustrated by the Senate, dismissed by the Governor-General, and then massively repudiated by the electorate. The story of the Whitlam years is the story of a political system tested to its limits. It remains a story of relevance to contemporary politics.

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS: OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1975 The years 1972-1975 were a whirlwind of activity, controversy and change, culminating in the dramatic events of October 1975 when the coalition parties in the Senate used their numbers to delay passage of the government’s Supply Bills. A three-week constitutional impasse followed, culminating in Whitlam’s dismissal by the Governor-General, Sir John Kerr, on November 11. BACKGROUND TO 1972 The Whitlam Government was the first Labor government for 23 years, since the defeat of Ben Chifley in 1949. It was elected at a time of growing disillusionment with the Vietnam War, a concern about Australia’s place in the world and great social change. GOUGH WHITLAM Whitlam was born in Melbourne in 1916. He grew up in Canberra and entered Parliament in 1952, becoming deputy leader of the ALP in 1961 and leader in 1967.

He won a 7% swing to his party in the 1969 election, rescuing it from the electoral disaster of 1966. Whitlam won office in 1972, was re-elected in 1974, dismissed and defeated in 1975, and rejected by the electorate again in 1977. He resigned the ALP leadership after the 1977 election and left parliament in 1978. In retirement, his energy and commitment to causes continued unabated. SIR JOHN KERR The man appointed by Whitlam to the position of Governor-General in 1974 is variously portrayed as a man of principle, a deceiver, an insecure man desperate to make his mark on history, the person who resolved a difficult situation not of his making by remitting it to the people, and a drunk. SIR GARFIELD BARWICK Barwick was Chief Justice of the High Court during the Whitlam years. He provided formal advice to the Governor-General on November 10, supporting Kerr’s decision to dismiss Whitlam.

Forty years later, it was revealed that High Court Justice Sir Anthony Mason played an even more significant role than Barwick did. CONSTITUTIONAL & POLITICAL ISSUES: THE KEY QUESTIONS The Dismissal raised a number of important constitutional, parliamentary and political issues, most of which remain unresolved to this day. Should the Senate have the right to block money bills? How should a government respond when this happens? Should the Governor-General intervene in conflicts between the houses? When should the Governor-General intervene? THE WHITLAM GOVERNMENTS Whitlam’s 1972 election was the result of a program of party reform, policy development and political salesmanship. The ‘Program’ he presented to the people in 1972 still stands as the most definitive statement of policies ever proposed at an election. This section also contains information on the Whitlam ministers. THE LOANS AFFAIR The Loans Affair saga caused enormous damage to the credibility and reputation of the Whitlam government in 1975. It led to the dismissal of Dr. Jim Cairns and Rex Connor, and was pivotal to the decision of the Opposition to block the Budget in October 1975.

WHITLAM SPEECHES Gough Whitlam died on October 21, 2014, at the age of 98. Even into his 90s, he was an active contributor to the political debates in Australia. Alone among all of the nation’s former leaders, he inspires a full measure of devotion from his supporters. Prime Minister of Australia - 必应 Sign in Prime Minister of Australia The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of government in Australia . The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of the Crown, the leader of the Cabinet and the chairperson of the National Security Committee. The office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and exists only through an unwritten political convention and tradition. Despite this, in practice it is the most powerful political position in Australia . The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia . ... (展开) Almost always and according to convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives. However, there is no constitutional requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives, or even be a member of parliament, though by convention this is always the case.

The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed prime minister was John Gorton, who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916 while Billy Hughes was overseas). Malcolm Turnbull has held the office of Prime Minister since 15 September 2015. He received his commission after replacing Tony Abbott as the leader of the Liberal Party, the dominant party in the Coalition government. Former Prime Ministers continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to significant post-prime ministerial careers. Some notable examples have included: Edmund Barton, who was a justice of the High Court; George Reid, Andrew Fisher, Joseph Cook and Stanley Bruce, who were High Commissioners to the United Kingdom; Arthur Fadden, who was Treasurer under another prime minister, Robert Menzies; and Kevin Rudd, who became Julia Gillard's Foreign Minister.

关于Prime Minister of Australia，网友们最关心的问题 1 Prime Minister of Australia Appointment The Prime Minister of Australia is appointed by the Governor-General of Australia under Section 64 of the Australian Constitution, which empowers the Governor-General to appoint Ministers of the Crown and requires such Ministers to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or become members within three months of the appointment. Before being sworn in as a minister, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable (usually abbreviated to The Hon) for life, barring exceptional circumstances. The senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia. The Prime Minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General and then presented with the commission (Letters patent) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the Governor-General. In the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission.

Ministers hold office "during the pleasure of the Governor-General" (s. 64 of the Constitution of Australia), so theoretically, the Governor-General can dismiss a minister at any time, by notifying them in writing of the termination of their commission; however, his or her power to do so except on the advice of the Prime Minister is heavily circumscribed by convention. Despite the importance of the office of prime minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. The formal title of the portfolio has always been simply "Prime Minister", except for the period of the Fourth Deakin Ministry (June 1909 to April 1910), when it was known as "Prime Minister (without portfolio)". If a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or the House passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the Prime Minister is bound by convention to immediately advise the Governor-General to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a fresh election.

Following a resignation in other circumstances, or the death of a prime minister, the governor-general will generally appoint as prime minister the person elected as leader by the governing party or, in the case of a coalition, the senior party in the coalition. There have been four notable exceptions to this: When Joseph Lyons, prime minister and leader of the United Australia Party (UAP), died suddenly in April 1939, the governor-general, Lord Gowrie, called on Sir Earle Page to become caretaker prime minister. Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party. He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies. In August 1941 Menzies resigned as prime minister. The UAP was so bereft of leadership at this time that the Country Party leader Arthur Fadden was invited to become prime minister, although the Country Party was the smaller of the two coalition parties. The government depended on support from two independents, who two months later voted against Fadden's budget and brought the government down, paving the way for John Curtin to be appointed as Labor prime minister. In July 1945 John Curtin died suddenly.

His deputy, Frank Forde, was sworn in the next day as prime minister, although the Labor Party had not had an opportunity to meet and elect a new leader. Forde served for eight days until Ben Chifley was elected leader. Chifley was then sworn in, replacing Forde, who became Australia's shortest-serving prime minister. Harold Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December 1967 and was declared presumed dead on 19 December. The governor-general, Lord Casey, commissioned the Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen, to form a government until the Liberal Party elected a new leader. McEwen was prime minister for 23 days, until the election of (then Senator) John Gorton. There were only three other cases where someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives was prime minister: Federation occurred on 1 January 1901, but elections for the first parliament were not scheduled until late March. In the interim, an unelected caretaker government was necessary.

In what is now known as the Hopetoun Blunder, the governor-general, Lord Hopetoun, invited Sir William Lyne, the premier of the most populous state, New South Wales, to form a government. Lyne was unable to do so and returned his commission in favour of Edmund Barton, who became the first prime minister and led the inaugural government into and beyond the election. During the second parliament, three parties (Free Trade, Protectionist and Labor) had roughly equal representation in the House of Representatives. The leaders of the three parties, Alfred Deakin, George Reid and Chris Watson each served as prime minister before losing a vote of confidence. During the 1975 constitutional crisis, on 11 November 1975, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the Labor Party's Gough Whitlam as prime minister. Despite Labor holding a majority in the House of Representatives, Kerr appointed the Leader of the Opposition, Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister, conditional on the passage of the Whitlam government's Supply bills through the Senate and the calling of an election for both houses of parliament. Fraser accepted these terms and immediately advised a double dissolution.

An election was called for 13 December, which the Liberal Party won in its own right (although the Liberals governed in a coalition with the Country Party). Prime Minister of Australia Powers Most of the prime minister's powers derive from being head of Government. In practice, the Federal Executive Council will act to ratify all decisions made by the cabinet and, in practice, decisions of the cabinet will always require the support of the prime minister. The powers of the governor-general to grant Royal Assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue parliament, to call elections and to make appointments are exercised on the advice of the prime minister. The formal power to appoint the Governor-General lies with the Queen of Australia, but this appointment is done on the formal advice of the Prime Minister. By convention, this advice is provided by the Prime Minister alone, and thus the appointment is effectively the Prime Minister's personal choice. The Prime Minister may also advise the monarch to dismiss the Governor-General, though it remains unclear how quickly the monarch would act on such advice in a constitutional crisis. This uncertainty, and the possibility of a "race" between the Governor-General and Prime Minister to sack the other, was a key question in the 1975 constitutional crisis.

The power of the prime minister is subject to a number of limitations. Prime ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, must advise an election of the lower house or resign the office or be dismissed by the governor-general.[citation needed] The prime minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Australian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the House of Representatives is mostly a formality. Attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult as government usually lacks an absolute majority because the Senate's representation is based on overall proportion of votes and often includes minor parties. Allowances The Royal Australian Air Force's No. 34 Squadron transports the prime minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business, Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as office, conference room and sleeping compartments. The call-sign for the aircraft is "Envoy". The prime minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, but not all prime ministers have chosen to make use of it.

Jim Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel); Ben Chifley lived in the Hotel Kurrajong; and John Howard made Kirribilli House in Sydney his primary residence, using The Lodge when in Canberra on official business. On her appointment on 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard said she would not be living in The Lodge until such time as she was returned to office by popular vote at the next general election. (She became prime minister mid-term after replacing the incumbent, Kevin Rudd, who resigned in the face of an unwinnable party-room ballot.) The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the prime minister and his or her family. A considerable amount of official entertaining is conducted at these residences. During his first term, Kevin Rudd had a staff at The Lodge consisting of a senior chef and an assistant chef, a child carer, one senior house attendant, and two junior house attendants. At Kirribilli House in Sydney, there is one full-time chef and one full-time house attendant.

Prime ministers are usually granted certain privileges after leaving office, such as office accommodation, staff assistance, and a Life Gold Pass, which entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense. Only one prime minister who had left the Federal Parliament ever returned. Stanley Bruce was defeated in his own seat in 1929 while prime minister, but was re-elected to parliament in 1931. Other prime ministers were elected to parliaments other than the Australian federal parliament: Sir George Reid was elected to the UK House of Commons (after his term as High Commissioner to the UK); and Frank Forde was re-elected to the Queensland Parliament (after his term as High Commissioner to Canada, and a failed attempt to re-enter the Federal Parliament). Prime Minister of Australia Acting and interim prime ministers From time to time prime ministers are required to leave the country on government business and a deputy acts in their place during that time. In the days before jet aircraft, such absences could be for extended periods.

For example, William Watt was acting prime minister for 16 months, from April 1918 until August 1919, when Prime Minister Billy Hughes was away at the Paris Peace Conference, and Senator George Pearce was acting Prime Minister for more than seven months in 1916. An acting Prime Minister is also appointed when the prime minister takes leave. The Deputy Prime Minister most commonly becomes acting Prime Minister in those circumstances. Three prime ministers have died in office – Joseph Lyons (1939), John Curtin (1945) and Harold Holt (1967) – and Robert Menzies resigned as Prime Minister in 1941. In each of these cases the Deputy Prime Minister (an unofficial office at the time) became an interim Prime Minister, pending an election of a new leader of the government party. In none of these cases was the interim Prime Minister successful at the subsequent election. The powers and duties of an acting or interim Prime Minister is analogous to that of a caretaker Prime Minister. Prime Minister of Australia Living former prime ministers As of February 2016, there are six living former Prime Ministers of Australia, the oldest being Bob Hawke (born 1929).

The most recent former prime minister to die was Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983), on 20 March 2015. The greatest number of living former prime ministers at any one time was eight. This has occurred twice: Between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson Between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin. Time in office The longest serving prime minister was Sir Robert Menzies, who served in office twice: from 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941, and again from 19 December 1949 to 26 January 1966.

In total Robert Menzies spent 18 years, 5 months and 12 days in office. He served under the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party respectively. The shortest-serving prime minister was Frank Forde, who was appointed to the position on 6 July 1945 after the death of John Curtin, and served until 13 July 1945 when Ben Chifley was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party. Prime Minister of Australia Post-office longevity Six former prime ministers are living: Hawke, Keating, Howard, Rudd, Gillard and Abbott. Ben Chifley died only one year and six months after leaving the prime ministership. Alfred Deakin lived another nine years and five months. All the others who have left office at least 10 years ago have lived at least another 10 years. Nine of them (Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Fraser, Gorton, Hughes, Watson, and Whitlam) lived more than 25 years after leaving the office, and all but one of them have survived longer than 30 years (Hughes lasted 29 years and 8 months).

The longest-surviving was Gough Whitlam, who lived 38 years and 11 months after office, surpassing Stanley Bruce's previous record of 37 years and 10 months after leaving the office. Prime Minister of Australia References ^ "Pearce, Sir George Foster (1870–1952)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2010. ^ "Malcolm Turnbull sworn in as Australia's 29th Prime Minister". ABC News. 15 September 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2015. ^ "ParlInfo – Part 6 – Historical information on the Australian Parliament: Ministries and Cabinets". aph.gov.au. ^ "Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and MPs in line to get a 3% pay rise". ^ Hudson, Phillip (25 August 2010). "Politicians awarded secret pay rise". Herald Sun (Australia). ^ Archived 13 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine ^ "Tony Abbott defends increase in MP salary, saying he's working hard for every Australian". Herald Sun.

5 July 2012. ^ Peatling, Stephanie (14 June 2013). "PM's salary tops $500,000". Sydney Morning Herald. ^ Metherell, Mark (19 February 2008). "Rudds' staff extends to a child carer at the Lodge". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 June 2010. ^ CarAdvice.com.au (6 April 2009). "25% of government car fleet foreign made". Car Advice. Retrieved 12 December 2011. ^ "Australian Dictionary of Biography – William Alexander Watt". ADB ANU. Retrieved 21 October 2014. ^ "Australian Dictionary of Biography – Sir George Foster Pearce". ADB ANU. Retrieved 21 October 2014. ^ "Curtin, John (1885–1945)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Australian National University. 2006. Retrieved 24 June 2010.

^ Prime Minister of Australia : definition of Prime Minister of Australia and synonyms of Prime Minister of Australia (English) The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown , leader of the Cabinet and head of government , holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia . The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia. Despite being at the apex of executive government in the country, the office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia specifically and exists through an unwritten political convention . Barring exceptional circumstances, the prime minister is always the leader of the political party or coalition with majority support in the House of Representatives . The only case where a senator was appointed prime minister was that of John Gorton , who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916 while Billy Hughes was overseas). [1] Julia Gillard is the current prime minister, leader of the Australian Labor Party , and the first female Prime Minister of Australia. Contents Politics portal The Prime Minister of Australia is appointed by the Governor-General of Australia under Section 64 of the Australian Constitution .

This empowers the governor-general to appoint Ministers of the Crown and requires such ministers to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or become members within three months of the appointment. Before being sworn in as a minister, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable (usually abbreviated to The Hon) for life, barring exceptional circumstances. The senior members of the executive council constitute the Cabinet of Australia . The prime minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the governor-general and then presented with the commission ( Letters patent ) of office. When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the prime minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the governor-general. In the event of a prime minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the governor-general can terminate the commission. Ministers hold office "during the pleasure of the governor-general" (s.

64 of the Constitution of Australia), so theoretically, the governor-general can dismiss a minister at any time, by notifying them in writing of the termination of their commission; however, his or her power to do so except on the advice of the prime minister is heavily circumscribed by convention. Despite the importance of the office of prime minister, the constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. The formal title of the portfolio has always been simply "Prime Minister", except for the period of the Fourth Deakin Ministry (June 1909 to April 1910), when it was known as "Prime Minister (without portfolio)". [2] If a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or the house passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the prime minister is bound by convention to resign immediately. The governor-general's choice of replacement prime minister will be dictated by the circumstances.

Following a resignation in other circumstances, or the death of a prime minister, the governor-general will generally appoint as prime minister the person voted by the governing party as their new leader. There have been four notable exceptions to this: When Joseph Lyons , prime minister and leader of the United Australia Party (UAP), died suddenly in April 1939, the governor-general, Lord Gowrie , called on Sir Earle Page to become caretaker prime minister. Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party . He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies . In August 1941, Menzies resigned as prime minister. The UAP was so bereft of leadership at this time that the Country Party leader Arthur Fadden was invited to become prime minister, although the Country Party was the smaller of the two coalition parties. The government depended on support from two independents, who two months later voted against Fadden's budget and brought the government down, paving the way for John Curtin to be appointed as Labor prime minister. In July 1945, John Curtin died suddenly.

His deputy, Frank Forde , was sworn in the next day as prime minister, although the Labor Party had not had an opportunity to meet and elect a new leader. Forde served for eight days until Ben Chifley was elected leader. Chifley was then sworn in, replacing Forde, who became Australia's shortest-serving prime minister. In 1967 then prime minister Harold Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December and was declared presumed dead on 19 December. The governor-general, Lord Casey , commissioned the Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen , to form a government until the Liberal Party elected a new leader. McEwen was prime minister for 23 days, until the election of (then Senator) John Gorton . There were only five other cases where someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives was prime minister: Federation occurred on 1 January 1901, but elections for the first parliament were not scheduled until late March. In the interim, a caretaker non-elected government was necessary.

In what is now known as the Hopetoun Blunder , the governor-general, Lord Hopetoun , invited Sir William Lyne , the premier of the most populous state, New South Wales , to form a government. Lyne was unable to do so and returned his commission in favour of Edmund Barton , who became the first prime minister and led the inaugural government into and beyond the election. During the second parliament, three parties (Free Trade, Protectionist and Labor) had roughly equal representation in the House of Representatives. The leaders of the three parties, Alfred Deakin , George Reid and Chris Watson each served as prime minister before losing a vote of confidence. During the 1975 constitutional crisis , on 11 November 1975, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr , dismissed the Labor Party's Gough Whitlam as prime minister. Despite Labor holding a majority in the House of Representatives, Kerr appointed the Leader of the Opposition, Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister, conditional on the passage of the Whitlam government's Supply bills through the Senate and the calling of an election for both houses of parliament. Fraser accepted these terms and immediately advised a double dissolution .

An election was called for 13 December , which the Liberal Party won in its own right (although the Liberals governed in a coalition with the Country Party). Powers The first Prime Minister of Australia, Edmund Barton (sitting second from left), with his Cabinet, 1901. Most of the prime minister's powers derive from his or her position as the head of the cabinet. In practice, the Federal Executive Council will act to ratify all decisions made by the cabinet and, in practice, decisions of the cabinet will always require the support of the prime minister. The powers of the governor-general to grant Royal Assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue parliament, to call elections and to make appointments are exercised on the advice of the prime minister. The power of the prime minister is subject to a number of limitations. Prime ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, must resign the office or be dismissed by the governor-general. The prime minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Australian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the House of Representatives is mostly a formality.

Attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult as government usually lacks an absolute majority because the Senate's representation is based on overall proportion of votes and often includes minor parties. Salary and benefits Salary The prime minister is the highest-paid member of parliament. Ministerial salary is expressed as an additional percentage on top of the basic parliamentary salary. The Remuneration Tribunal's Report Number 1 of 2006 [4] confirms the prime minister's additional salary as 160% of her or his parliamentary salary, i.e. the prime minister earns in total 260% of the salary of an ordinary parliamentarian. The prime minister's salary is about five times that of the average full-time adult salary of $67,116, as of February 2010. [5] Allowances Prime Ministers Curtin , Fadden , Hughes , Menzies and Governor-General The Duke of Gloucester in 1945. The Royal Australian Air Force 's No. 34 Squadron transports the prime minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as office, conference room and sleeping compartments.

The call-sign for the aircraft is "Envoy". The prime minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra , Australian Capital Territory , but not all prime ministers have chosen to make use of it. Jim Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel); Ben Chifley lived in the Kurrajong Hotel; and John Howard made Kirribilli House in Sydney , New South Wales his primary residence, using The Lodge when in Canberra on official business. On her appointment on 24 June 2010, the current prime minister Julia Gillard said she would not be living in The Lodge until such time as she is returned to office by popular vote at the next general election . (She became prime minister mid-term after replacing the incumbent, Kevin Rudd, who resigned in the face of an unwinnable party-room ballot.) The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the prime minister and his or her family. A considerable amount of official entertaining is conducted at these residences. Kevin Rudd had a staff at The Lodge consisting of a senior chef and an assistant chef, a child carer, one senior house attendant, and two junior house attendants.

At Kirribilli House in Sydney, there is one full-time chef and one full-time house attendant. [6] Prime ministers are usually granted certain privileges after leaving office, such as office accommodation, staff assistance, and a Life Gold Pass, which entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense. Only one prime minister who had left the Federal Parliament ever returned. Stanley Bruce was defeated in his own seat in 1929 while prime minister, but was re-elected to parliament in 1931 . However, Sir George Reid was elected to the UK House of Commons (after his term as High Commissioner to the UK); and Frank Forde was re-elected to the Queensland Parliament (after his term as High Commissioner to Canada, and a failed attempt to re-enter the Federal Parliament). Former prime ministers continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to successful post-prime ministerial careers.

Some notable examples have included: Edmund Barton , who was a justice of the High Court ; George Reid , Andrew Fisher , Joseph Cook and Stanley Bruce, who were High Commissioners to the United Kingdom ; Arthur Fadden , who was treasurer under another prime minister, Robert Menzies ; and Kevin Rudd , who became Julia Gillard 's Foreign Minister after the 2010 federal election, until 2012. List of prime ministers Below is a list of Prime Ministers of Australia by name, date assumed office, date left office, political party, total time in office and state represented in parliament. The state(s) represented in parliament is not necessarily the one with which the person had the strongest association; the most extreme example being Bob Hawke who was born in South Australia , spent his formative years in Western Australia , worked in and represented Victoria and retired to New South Wales. The parties shown are those to which the prime ministers belonged at the time they held office. Several prime ministers belonged to parties other than those given before and after their prime ministerships.

2007–2010 (1957-09-21) 21 September 1957 (age 54) The greatest number of living former prime ministers at any one time was eight. This has occurred twice: Between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden ) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson Between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde ) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin. Seven former prime ministers were alive between 18 November 1941 and 13 July 1945, and between 30 July 1947 and 13 June 1951. Gough Whitlam has achieved a greater age than any other prime minister.

The most recently deceased prime minister was John Gorton (1968–1971), who died on 19 May 2002. Backgrounds Birthplace Ten of Australia's prime ministers were born in Victoria , seven in New South Wales , three in Queensland and one each in South Australia and Tasmania . Six were born overseas: five in the United Kingdom (Hughes and Cook in England , Fisher and Reid in Scotland , Gillard in Wales ) and Watson in Chile . Education Melbourne Grammar School produced the most number of future prime ministers (Deakin, Bruce and Fraser). Other secondary schools where more than one future prime minister studied include Geelong Grammar School (Gorton, Fraser), Sydney Grammar School (Barton, McMahon) and Wesley College, Melbourne (Menzies, Holt). Five future prime ministers graduated from University of Sydney (Barton, Page, McMahon, Whitlam, Howard). Four studied at the University of Melbourne (Deakin, Menzies, Holt, Gillard) and three at Oxford University (Gorton, Fraser, Hawke). Rudd studied at the Australian National University . Eight prime ministers did not complete any form of higher education.

Occupation Eleven prime ministers practised law before entering into politics (in addition Hawke acquired a law degree, but never practised law). Seven prime ministers (all Australian Labor Party) had served as trade union officials. Other occupations that prime ministers had performed include journalism (Watson, Scullin, Curtin), teaching (Lyons and Forde), diplomacy (Rudd), mining (Fisher, Cook), medicine (Page), engine driving (Chifley) and accountancy (Fadden). Three prime ministers served in the First World War (Bruce, Page and McEwen; of whom only Bruce was involved in actual combat). Four served in the Second World War (Holt, Gorton, McMahon, and Whitlam; of whom Gorton and Whitlam served as air crew in the Royal Australian Air Force ). Prior to participating in federal politics, prime ministers had been elected to the state Parliaments of New South Wales (Barton, Watson, Reid, Cook, Hughes), Queensland (Fisher, Fadden, Forde), Victoria (Deakin, Menzies) and Tasmania (Lyons). In addition Page had been the Mayor of Grafton .

After leaving the federal Parliament, Forde was appointed High Commissioner to Canada, and on his return to Australia was re-elected to the Queensland Parliament. Personal circumstances All prime ministers except for Gillard have married at least once. McEwen married twice, but was the only Prime Minister to be a widower throughout his premiership. Bruce, Scullin, Chifley, McEwen and Gillard were childless, while Lyons had twelve children (one died in infancy). Religious beliefs Six prime ministers have been Anglican (Barton, Bruce, Holt, McMahon, Howard and Rudd), one was a Baptist (Hughes), five were Catholic (Scullin, Lyons, Forde, Chifley and Keating), two were Methodists (Cook, Page), six were Presbyterian (Fisher, Reid, Menzies, Fadden, McEwen and Fraser), one was a Spiritualist (Deakin), one was a Unitarian (Watson), and five professed no religion (Curtin, Gorton, Whitlam, Hawke and Gillard).

Convictions John Curtin is the only prime minister to serve time in gaol (three days for failing to comply with an order for a compulsory medical examination for conscription, during World War I). [8] Births and deaths Seventeen prime ministers were born prior to the Federation of Australia , 1 January 1901. The earliest-born prime minister was George Reid , born 25 February 1845. Three prime ministers died in office: Joseph Lyons (1939), John Curtin (1945) and Harold Holt (1967). Holt's was a most unusual case – he disappeared while swimming , was declared presumed dead two days later, and his body was never recovered. It was not until almost 38 years later, in 2005, that he was officially declared by the Victorian Coroner to have drowned at the time of his disappearance. The first person born after Federation to serve as prime minister was Harold Holt, born 5 August 1908.

(Sir William McMahon , who was a later prime minister, was born 23 February 1908, and is the earliest-born of the prime ministers born after Federation.) The first person born after the First World War to serve as prime minister was Malcolm Fraser , born 21 May 1930. ( Bob Hawke , who succeeded Fraser, was born 9 December 1929, and is the earliest-born of the prime ministers born after WWI.) The first person born after the Second World War to serve as prime minister is Kevin Rudd , born 21 September 1957. Incumbent prime minister Julia Gillard also falls into this category, born 29 September 1961. The only prime ministers born during either of the world wars are Gough Whitlam , born 11 July 1916, during the First World War, and Paul Keating , born 18 January 1944, during the Second World War. Seven prime ministers were born in the month of September, two more than the next most common month of August.

The seven were: John Gorton (9 September), Joseph Lyons (15th), James Scullin (18th), Kevin Rudd (21st), Ben Chifley (22nd), Billy Hughes (25th) and Julia Gillard (29th). None were born in June, October or November. Two prime ministers share the same birthday: Sir Edmund Barton and Paul Keating, born on 18 January in 1849 and 1944 respectively. [9] Two other prime ministers share the same death day: James Scullin and Frank Forde , died on 28 January in 1953 and 1983 respectively. Three prime ministers died outside of Australia: Sir George Reid, Andrew Fisher and Viscount Bruce died in the United Kingdom . Reid and Fisher are buried there. Ages The three youngest people when they first became prime minister were: Chris Watson – 37 The three oldest people when they first became prime minister were: John McEwen – 67 Ben Chifley – 59 years 10 months (George Reid was 59 years 6 months).

The three youngest people to last leave the office of prime minister were: Chris Watson – 37 Arthur Fadden – 46 years 5 months 22 days Stanley Bruce – 46 years 6 months 7 days The three oldest people to last leave the office of prime minister were: Robert Menzies – 71 John McEwen – 67 Time in office The longest-serving Prime Minister was Sir Robert Menzies , who served in office twice: from 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941, and again from 29 December 1949 to 26 January 1966. In total Robert Menzies spent 18 years, 5 months and 12 days in office. He served under the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party respectively. The shortest-serving Prime Minister was Frank Forde , who spent a total of 8 days under the Labor Party from 6–13 July 1945 Post-office longevity Six former prime ministers are living: Whitlam, Fraser, Hawke, Keating, Howard and Rudd. Ben Chifley died only one year six months after leaving the prime ministership.

Alfred Deakin lasted nine years five months. All the others who have left office at least 10 years ago have lasted at least 10 years. Nine of them (Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Fraser, Gorton, Hughes, Watson, and Whitlam) lived more than 25 years after leaving the office, and all but two of these survived longer than 30 years (Hughes lasted 29 years and 8 months; Fraser has lasted more than 28 years and is still living). The longest-surviving was Stanley Bruce , who died 37 years and 10 months after leaving the office. If Gough Whitlam is living on 25 September 2013, he will exceed Bruce's record. (He would then be 97 years old.) See also EN Wikipedia URL The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the head of government in Australia. The individual who holds the office is the most senior Minister of the Crown , the leader of the Cabinet and the chairperson of the National Security Committee . The office is not mentioned in the Constitution of Australia and exists only through an unwritten political convention and tradition.

Despite this, in practice it is the most powerful political position in Australia. The individual who holds the office is commissioned by the Governor-General of Australia . Almost always and according to convention, the Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party or largest party in a coalition of parties in the House of Representatives . However, there is no constitutional requirement that the prime minister sit in the House of Representatives, or even be a member of parliament, though by convention this is always the case. The only case where a member of the Senate was appointed prime minister was John Gorton , who subsequently resigned his Senate position and was elected as a member of the House of Representatives (Senator George Pearce was acting prime minister for seven months in 1916 while Billy Hughes was overseas). [2] Malcolm Turnbull has held the office of Prime Minister since 15 September 2015. He received his commission after replacing Tony Abbott as the leader of the Liberal Party , the dominant party in the Coalition government, following the outcome of the September 2015 Liberal leadership ballot . [3] Former Prime Ministers continue to be important national figures, and in some cases go on to significant post-prime ministerial careers.

Some notable examples have included: Edmund Barton , who was a justice of the High Court ; George Reid , Andrew Fisher , Joseph Cook and Stanley Bruce, who were High Commissioners to the United Kingdom ; Arthur Fadden , who was Treasurer under another prime minister, Robert Menzies ; and Kevin Rudd , who became Julia Gillard 's Foreign Minister. Appointment The Prime Minister of Australia is appointed by the Governor-General of Australia under Section 64 of the Australian Constitution , which empowers the Governor-General to appoint Ministers of the Crown and requires such Ministers to be members of the House of Representatives or the Senate, or become members within three months of the appointment. Before being sworn in as a minister, a person must first be sworn in as a member of the Federal Executive Council if they are not already a member. Membership of the Federal Executive Council entitles the member to the style of The Honourable (usually abbreviated to The Hon) for life, barring exceptional circumstances. The senior members of the Executive Council constitute the Cabinet of Australia . The Prime Minister is, like other ministers, normally sworn in by the Governor-General and then presented with the commission ( Letters patent ) of office.

When defeated in an election, or on resigning, the Prime Minister is said to "hand in the commission" and actually does so by returning it to the Governor-General. In the event of a Prime Minister dying in office, or becoming incapacitated, the Governor-General can terminate the commission. Ministers hold office "during the pleasure of the Governor-General" (s. 64 of the Constitution of Australia), so theoretically, the Governor-General can dismiss a minister at any time, by notifying them in writing of the termination of their commission; however, his or her power to do so except on the advice of the Prime Minister is heavily circumscribed by convention. Despite the importance of the office of prime minister, the Constitution does not mention the office by name. The conventions of the Westminster system were thought to be sufficiently entrenched in Australia by the authors of the Constitution that it was deemed unnecessary to detail them. The formal title of the portfolio has always been simply "Prime Minister", except for the period of the Fourth Deakin Ministry (June 1909 to April 1910), when it was known as "Prime Minister (without portfolio)".

[4] If a government cannot get its appropriation (budget) legislation passed by the House of Representatives, or the House passes a vote of "no confidence" in the government, the Prime Minister is bound by convention to immediately advise the Governor-General to dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a fresh election. Following a resignation in other circumstances, or the death of a prime minister, the governor-general will generally appoint as prime minister the person elected as leader by the governing party or, in the case of a coalition, the senior party in the coalition. There have been four notable exceptions to this: When Joseph Lyons , prime minister and leader of the United Australia Party (UAP), died suddenly in April 1939, the governor-general, Lord Gowrie , called on Sir Earle Page to become caretaker prime minister. Page was the leader of the smaller party in the governing coalition, the Country Party . He held the office for three weeks until the UAP elected a new leader, Robert Menzies . In August 1941 Menzies resigned as prime minister.

The UAP was so bereft of leadership at this time that the Country Party leader Arthur Fadden was invited to become prime minister, although the Country Party was the smaller of the two coalition parties. The government depended on support from two independents, who two months later voted against Fadden's budget and brought the government down, paving the way for John Curtin to be appointed as Labor prime minister. In July 1945 John Curtin died suddenly. His deputy, Frank Forde , was sworn in the next day as prime minister, although the Labor Party had not had an opportunity to meet and elect a new leader. Forde served for eight days until Ben Chifley was elected leader. Chifley was then sworn in, replacing Forde, who became Australia's shortest-serving prime minister. Harold Holt disappeared while swimming on 17 December 1967 and was declared presumed dead on 19 December. The governor-general, Lord Casey , commissioned the Leader of the Country Party, John McEwen , to form a government until the Liberal Party elected a new leader. McEwen was prime minister for 23 days, until the election of (then Senator) John Gorton .

There were only three other cases where someone other than the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives was prime minister: Federation occurred on 1 January 1901, but elections for the first parliament were not scheduled until late March. In the interim, an unelected caretaker government was necessary. In what is now known as the Hopetoun Blunder , the governor-general, Lord Hopetoun , invited Sir William Lyne , the premier of the most populous state, New South Wales , to form a government. Lyne was unable to do so and returned his commission in favour of Edmund Barton , who became the first prime minister and led the inaugural government into and beyond the election. During the second parliament, three parties (Free Trade, Protectionist and Labor) had roughly equal representation in the House of Representatives. The leaders of the three parties, Alfred Deakin , George Reid and Chris Watson each served as prime minister before losing a vote of confidence. During the 1975 constitutional crisis , on 11 November 1975, the governor-general, Sir John Kerr , dismissed the Labor Party's Gough Whitlam as prime minister.

Despite Labor holding a majority in the House of Representatives, Kerr appointed the Leader of the Opposition, Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser as caretaker prime minister, conditional on the passage of the Whitlam government's Supply bills through the Senate and the calling of an election for both houses of parliament. Fraser accepted these terms and immediately advised a double dissolution . An election was called for 13 December , which the Liberal Party won in its own right (although the Liberals governed in a coalition with the Country Party). Powers Most of the prime minister's powers derive from being head of Government . In practice, the Federal Executive Council will act to ratify all decisions made by the cabinet and, in practice, decisions of the cabinet will always require the support of the prime minister. The powers of the governor-general to grant Royal Assent to legislation, to dissolve and prorogue parliament, to call elections and to make appointments are exercised on the advice of the prime minister. The formal power to appoint the Governor-General lies with the Queen of Australia , but this appointment is done on the formal advice of the Prime Minister. By convention, this advice is provided by the Prime Minister alone, and thus the appointment is effectively the Prime Minister's personal choice.

The Prime Minister may also advise the monarch to dismiss the Governor-General, though it remains unclear how quickly the monarch would act on such advice in a constitutional crisis. This uncertainty, and the possibility of a "race" between the Governor-General and Prime Minister to sack the other, was a key question in the 1975 constitutional crisis . The power of the prime minister is subject to a number of limitations. Prime ministers removed as leader of his or her party, or whose government loses a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives, must advise an election of the lower house or resign the office or be dismissed by the governor-general. The prime minister's party will normally have a majority in the House of Representatives and party discipline is exceptionally strong in Australian politics, so passage of the government's legislation through the House of Representatives is mostly a formality. Attaining the support of the Senate can be more difficult as government usually lacks an absolute majority because the Senate's representation is based on overall proportion of votes and often includes minor parties. Salary and benefits $507,338 [10] Allowances The Royal Australian Air Force 's No.

34 Squadron transports the prime minister within Australia and overseas by specially converted Boeing Business, Jets and smaller Challenger aircraft. The aircraft contain secure communications equipment as well as office, conference room and sleeping compartments. The call-sign for the aircraft is "Envoy". The prime minister's official residence is The Lodge in Canberra , Australian Capital Territory , but not all prime ministers have chosen to make use of it. Jim Scullin preferred to live at the Hotel Canberra (now the Hyatt Hotel); Ben Chifley lived in the Hotel Kurrajong ; and John Howard made Kirribilli House in Sydney his primary residence, using The Lodge when in Canberra on official business. On her appointment on 24 June 2010, Julia Gillard said she would not be living in The Lodge until such time as she was returned to office by popular vote at the next general election . (She became prime minister mid-term after replacing the incumbent, Kevin Rudd, who resigned in the face of an unwinnable party-room ballot.) The official residences are fully staffed and catered for both the prime minister and his or her family. A considerable amount of official entertaining is conducted at these residences.

During his first term, Kevin Rudd had a staff at The Lodge consisting of a senior chef and an assistant chef, a child carer, one senior house attendant, and two junior house attendants. At Kirribilli House in Sydney, there is one full-time chef and one full-time house attendant. [11] Prime ministers are usually granted certain privileges after leaving office, such as office accommodation, staff assistance, and a Life Gold Pass, which entitles the holder to travel within Australia for "non-commercial" purposes at government expense. Only one prime minister who had left the Federal Parliament ever returned. Stanley Bruce was defeated in his own seat in 1929 while prime minister, but was re-elected to parliament in 1931 . Other prime ministers were elected to parliaments other than the Australian federal parliament: Sir George Reid was elected to the UK House of Commons (after his term as High Commissioner to the UK); and Frank Forde was re-elected to the Queensland Parliament (after his term as High Commissioner to Canada, and a failed attempt to re-enter the Federal Parliament).

Official state car Since 2015, the Prime Minister of Australia's official car has been a fleet of heavily armoured BMW 7 Series , which replaced a fleet of Holden Caprices . It is escorted by police vehicles from state and federal authorities. The Prime Minister's car bears the number plate "C1" (meaning "Commonwealth 1"). [2] Acting and interim prime ministers From time to time prime ministers are required to leave the country on government business and a deputy acts in their place during that time. In the days before jet aircraft, such absences could be for extended periods. For example, William Watt was acting prime minister for 16 months, from April 1918 until August 1919, when Prime Minister Billy Hughes was away at the Paris Peace Conference , [2] and Senator George Pearce was acting Prime Minister for more than seven months in 1916. [2] An acting Prime Minister is also appointed when the prime minister takes leave. The Deputy Prime Minister most commonly becomes acting Prime Minister in those circumstances.

Three prime ministers have died in office – Joseph Lyons (1939), John Curtin (1945) and Harold Holt (1967) – and Robert Menzies resigned as Prime Minister in 1941. In each of these cases the Deputy Prime Minister (an unofficial office at the time) became an interim Prime Minister , pending an election of a new leader of the government party. In none of these cases was the interim Prime Minister successful at the subsequent election. The powers and duties of an acting or interim Prime Minister is analogous to that of a caretaker Prime Minister . Timeline Living former prime ministers As of July 2016, there are six living former Prime Ministers of Australia, the oldest being Bob Hawke (born 1929). The most recent former prime minister to die was Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983), on 20 March 2015. Name 2013–2015 (1957-11-04) 4 November 1957 The greatest number of living former prime ministers at any one time was eight.

This has occurred twice: Between 7 October 1941 (when John Curtin succeeded Arthur Fadden ) and 18 November 1941 (when Chris Watson died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Hughes, Menzies, Page, Scullin and Watson Between 13 July 1945 (when Ben Chifley succeeded Frank Forde ) and 30 July 1947 (when Sir Joseph Cook died), the eight living former prime ministers were Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Hughes, Menzies, Page and Scullin. Convictions John Curtin is the only prime minister to serve time in prison (three days for failing to comply with an order for a compulsory medical examination for conscription, during World War I).

[2] Ages The three youngest people when they first became prime minister were: Chris Watson – 37 The three youngest people to last leave the office of prime minister were: Chris Watson – 37 Arthur Fadden – 46 years 5 months 22 days Stanley Bruce – 46 years 6 months 7 days The three oldest people to last leave the office of prime minister were: Robert Menzies – 71 John McEwen – 67 Time in office The longest serving prime minister was Sir Robert Menzies , who served in office twice: from 26 April 1939 to 28 August 1941, and again from 19 December 1949 to 26 January 1966. In total Robert Menzies spent 18 years, 5 months and 12 days in office. He served under the United Australia Party and the Liberal Party respectively.

The shortest-serving prime minister was Frank Forde , who was appointed to the position on 6 July 1945 after the death of John Curtin , and served until 13 July 1945 when Ben Chifley was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party . Post-office longevity Six former prime ministers are living: Hawke, Keating, Howard, Rudd, Gillard and Abbott. [2] Ben Chifley died only one year and six months after leaving the prime ministership. Alfred Deakin lived another nine years and five months. [2] All the others who have left office at least 10 years ago have lived at least another 10 years. Nine of them (Bruce, Cook, Fadden, Forde, Fraser, Gorton, Hughes, Watson, and Whitlam) lived more than 25 years after leaving the office, and all but one of them have survived longer than 30 years (Hughes lasted 29 years and 8 months).

The longest-surviving was Gough Whitlam , who lived 38 years and 11 months after office, surpassing Stanley Bruce 's previous record of 37 years and 10 months after leaving the office. [2] Gough Whitlam | National Museum of Australia Prime Minister from 5 December 1972 to 11 November 1975 Gough Whitlam. Photo: National Archives of Australia, A6180:18/6/74/1. Gough Whitlam came into office in late 1972. The Australian Labor Party (ALP) had been in opposition for 23 years, and Whitlam, who had reformed the ALP's policies, was keen to bring a program of social reform to the people of Australia. He ended conscription, established new Commonwealth agencies like Aboriginal Affairs, Environment, and Urban and Regional Development, and introduced universal health care - the Medibank Scheme. Economic woes and political mistakes resulted in the opposition refusing to pass his government's Budget Bills in the Senate. In 1975 he became the only Prime Minister to be removed from office by the Governor-General.

Beginnings Edward Gough Whitlam (commonly known by his middle name - Gough) was born in Kew, Melbourne, on 11 July 1916. He was the first of two children of Harry FE Whitlam and Martha Maddocks. Harry joined the Commonwealth Public Service in Melbourne and rose to become the Commonwealth Crown Solicitor. The family moved to Sydney in 1918 and to Canberra in 1928. Whitlam was educated at Mowbray House and Knox Grammar School in Sydney, then in Canberra at Telopea Park High School and Canberra Boys' Grammar School. He went on to the University of Sydney, from which he graduated in arts and law. He married Margaret Dovey in 1942, and they had four children. Whitlam enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1941, served as a navigator, and was discharged as a flight lieutenant in 1945. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1947 and practised as a barrister. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1962.

Having joined the Australian Labor Party in 1945, Whitlam unsuccessfully contested the state seat of Sutherland in 1950. Entry to federal politics Whitlam entered federal parliament in November 1952 by winning the seat of Werriwa in a by-election. He was elected deputy leader of the federal parliamentary ALP in March 1960. He succeeded Arthur Calwell as leader in February 1967, which made him Leader of the Opposition. As ALP deputy and leader, Whitlam played an important part in reviving the party's electoral fortune, through modernisation of the party platform so as to appeal to an emerging generation of better-educated voters. He helped the party throw off its image of being under Communist influence and control by party officials with no responsibility to parliament. He also won the ALP many supporters by persuading the party to accept government financial support of non-government schools. In June 1971 Whitlam led an ALP delegation to China. Undertaken at a time when the Liberal-Country Party coalition government still refused to establish diplomatic relations with China, this demonstrated his statesmanlike qualities.

Prime Minister Gough Whitlam Whitlam became Prime Minister on 5 December 1972, following the ALP victory at the general election. Campaigning on the theme 'It's Time' - that is, time for an ALP government after 23 years of Liberal-Country Party rule - the ALP promised electors an ambitious package of reforms. These included an immediate end to Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War and an end to military conscription, diplomatic recognition of China, independence for Australia's territories of Papua New Guinea, free university education, a national health scheme, and a program of urban decentralisation through the creation of 'regional growth centres'. Although the government led by Whitlam had a comfortable House of Representatives majority, it did not control the Senate. The Senate's threat to block the government's Budget in April 1974 prompted Whitlam to obtain a double dissolution of parliament, only the third time this had occurred since the foundation of the Commonwealth in 1901. The ALP retained government at the subsequent general election on 18 May 1974 but still lacked control of the Senate. While in office, the Whitlam government implemented its huge program of reform.

Among its many initiatives were: 1972: end of conscription. 1973: establishment of new Commonwealth agencies and functions, including departments of Aboriginal Affairs, Defence (amalgamation of Air, Army and Navy departments), Environment, Urban and Regional Development. Other innovations were Aboriginal Land Rights Commission, Adviser to the Government on Women's Affairs, Institute of Criminology, Law Reform Commission, Schools Commission, Social Welfare Commission. 1974: Aboriginal Land Fund Commission, Australian Legal Aid Office, National Employment and Training Scheme. 1975: Australian Heritage Commission, Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service, Australian Postal Commission, Australian Telecommunications Commission, Commissioner for Community Relations, Family Law Act (under which divorce law was reformed and the Family Court established in 1976), Medibank Health Scheme. With a great interest in international affairs, Whitlam travelled more widely than any previous Prime Minister or opposition leader. Among his many overseas tours he visited most nations of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Pacific and North America.

Following a series of controversies involving ALP ministers and revelations of government attempts to obtain foreign loans through unconventional channels, the Liberal-National Country Party opposition refused to allow the government's budgetary legislation to pass the Senate in 1975 in the hope of forcing the government to an election. From October to November 1975, with the government's monetary supply effectively cut off, a grave constitutional crisis resulted. The crisis climaxed on 11 November 1975, when the Governor-General, John Kerr, withdrew Whitlam's commission as Prime Minister, commissioned the Liberal leader Malcolm Fraser to form an interim government until a general election could be held, and dissolved the parliament. Whitlam thus became the only Prime Minister in Australian history to have been removed from office while commanding the confidence of the lower house. After perhaps the most bitter and divisive election campaign in Australian history, Malcolm Fraser's Liberal-National Country Party coalition routed the ALP at a general election on 13 December 1975, winning 56 per cent of the overall vote, 91 of the 127 House of Representatives seats, and 35 of the 64 Senate seats.

This resounding victory gave the coalition a record majority in the House of Representatives, and a six-seat majority in the Senate. Later political life After the ALP was defeated at the 1977 general election, Whitlam quit the party leadership and was succeeded by WG Hayden. He resigned from parliament in July 1978. Beyond politics In 1978 Whitlam become a visiting fellow at the Australian National University. He later held visiting professorships at Harvard and Adelaide Universities. In 1979 he published a book about the events leading to his dismissal, The Truth of the Matter. In 1983 he was appointed Australian ambassador to UNESCO by the ALP government led by Bob Hawke. In retirement Whitlam continued to lecture and comment on political and constitutional issues. Legislation The legislative program of the Whitlam government was groundbreaking and frenetic. A whole raft of legislation covering existing and new areas of government activity was passed. In 1973, for example, 203 Bills were passed, 46 more than the previous record of 157 in 1968.

The Prices Justification Act 1973 established the Prices Justification Tribunal to act as a watchdog on the price of goods and services supplied by companies. The Pipeline Authority Act 1973 established the National Pipeline Authority to oversee the planning and construction of a national pipeline system and its subsequent operation and maintenance. The Health Insurance Act 1973 established 'Medibank', a national health scheme funded by levy which provided free public hospital treatment and medical benefits totalling at least 85 per cent of the cost of doctor and hospital services. The Trade Practices Act 1974 outlawed restrictive trade practices and ensured consumer protection and product and manufacturing liability. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 established a service to plan and manage national parks in line with international standards. The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 enabled Australia to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination. The Family Law Act 1975 replaced the existing grounds for divorce with a single ground, irretrievable breakdown of marriage (for example, having separated and lived apart for 12 months or more) and the extension of federal jurisdiction to maintenance, custody and property matters.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 established tribunals to review the discretionary decisions of ministers and officials. The Australian Heritage Commission Act 1975 established the Australian Heritage Commission to advise the Government and Parliament on the condition of the National Estate and how it should be protected. Breadcrumb Links:

Question: Who was dismissed from office as Australian prime minister in 1975 after refusing to call a general election?
Answer: Gough Whitlam